Oslo Conference To Raise Funds To Help Embattled Lake Chad Region

An international humanitarian conference in Oslo today aims to raise awareness and funds to help people in the Lake Chad region, which is beset by a food crisis brought about by an insurgency by the militant Boko Haram's Islamist group.

The Lake Chad region includes Cameroon, Niger, Chad and Nigeria, which is co-organising the conference together with Germany and Norway.

According to the United Nations (UN), 10.7 million people are in need in the region, with 7.1 million people being "severely food insecure" amid "famine-like conditions". The worst hit region is Borno state, northeast Nigeria.

In his opening statement for the conference this morning, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Børge Brende's said: "This conference is organized to mobilize international attention and assistance, to close the gap between immediate needs and available resources. It is a humanitarian imperative to act, to act now, and scale up the response. The affected population must get the help they need to survive."

The conference is focusing on three priority areas: food security; humanitarian protection and access to aid; and education in situations of crisis and conflict. - Town